1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to protective bibs for infants. More particularly, the invention comprises a bib adapted to enable a succession of protective bib panels to be manually removed from the bib, each panel revealing an underlying panel when removed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Feeding of infants and babies can be quite messy, since the young are unable to maintain order while eating, and since foods prepared for infants are often in liquid or fluent form. To protect a child's clothing against soiling from spills, drooling, and the like, the child is typically provided with a bib. The bib may be removed after feeding is finished. However, the volume of spillage may well exceed the capacity of a bib to absorb spillage during only one feeding. More than one bib may be required to complete a feeding.
A bib providing progressive layers of protection is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,432,952, issued to Kathleen M. Tate on Jul. 18, 1995. Although redundant or plural protective panels are provided, they are not separable in the manner of the present invention.
A similar concept is employed in a jacket set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,119, issued to Joyce M. Thomm on Oct. 3, 1995. Although the jacket has a removable bib member, there is no provision for more than one bib member, unlike the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,540,060, issued to Grace Wallace Brown on Nov. 17, 1970, describes a bib having a removable front panel. Although the front panel removes with snaps, the snaps are not arranged to enable a plurality of removable front panels to be stacked in the manner of the present invention.
A compound bib having plural protective members is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,432,952, issued to Kathleen M. Tate on Jul. 18, 1995. However, the plural members are not removable and also do not provide virtually identical protective coverage, these characteristics being found in the present invention.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.